Keith Tornheim

I originally studied spontaneous oscillatory behavior of glycolysis in muscle extracts. These oscillations involve the regulatory properties of the key control enzyme, phosphofructokinase, which was therefore the object of related kinetic studies. Much of my subsequent research focused on oscillatory behavior of glycolysis and the ATP/ADP ratio and glucose-stimulated oscillations in intracellular free Ca2+ and insulin secretion in pancreatic islets. Such oscillations can increase the potency of insulin, and loss or derangement of these oscillations may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. Mice deficient in the M (oscillatory) isoform of phosphofructokinase were found to have greatly decreased fat stores, suggesting an important role of glycolytic oscillations in fat cells, too. I am currently in the Biochemistry teaching mission, teaching metabolism to first-year medical, dental and graduate students.